Take a Mate to the Tate Late

So you’ve survived your first week in London. You’re probably feeling a little squeezed for cash, but just because you’ve spent all your money on curly fries doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy the excitement of being in a capital city. So, if you’re craving a wallet-friendly culture-fix, why not head over to the Tate Modern this weekend for an evening of modern art?

Explore the newly opened Blavatnik Building, listen to the DJ as you boogie the night away on the terrace bar, or just enjoy a coffee as you soak up the Southbank atmosphere. If you’re not up to much, make your way to the Turbine Hall to lie flat on your back and leave an impression of your body on the floor.

While you’re in the Blavatnik Building, head to the Artist Rooms on Level 4 where American artist Jenny Holzer is exhibiting her work until July 2019. Deliberately provocative, words and statements are central to Holzer’s work, with slogans and clichés scrawled or printed on all sorts of objects and in a variety of media. Designed to be accessible to non-artists, the rooms are perfect to wander through and just look at what catches your attention at that moment. With everyday objects that appear ordinary until you can get close enough to read the text, and her love of flickering or electronic words, something different will catch your eye each time. Look out for her inflammatory essays and her ‘instagrammable’ Blue Purple Tilt as you wander through her rooms.

Another installation to look out for is Untitled by Rudolf Stingel which invites the viewer to create their own artwork on wall covered in orange carpet. The work challenges convention, as it is only complete when the viewer creates their own art with it. It’s constantly changing, with names and scribbles easily erased with the brush of a hand, leaving you with both a feeling of autonomy and sense of impermanence.

While you’re on Level 4, make your way over to Media Networks to see some iconic pieces. This permanent exhibition examines the impact of mass media in an age where we are bombarded with information and displays works by a number of big names in the art world including Andy Warhol and pop artist Roy Lichenstein. Keep an eye out for a poster by a group of anonymous American artists called the Guerilla Girls, who produced fifty advertising posters highlighting racial and sexual discrimination in the art world, and Pablo Picasso’s Bust of a Woman. Painted in May 1944 in Paris during the final months of Nazi occupation, this portrait, with its bright colours and chaotic background, captures both the fear and hope Picasso felt at this complex moment in his life.

If you love colour, head down to the Start Display on Level 2 to see some of the gallery’s most popular works. From Maria Lalic’s History Paintings to Henri Matisse’s The Snail, these rooms are full of colour and of art that examines colour. While you’re there, make sure you find some of ‘the godfather of colour photography’ William Eggleston’s works, and have a look at IKB 79 by one of my favourite artists Yves Klein. The distinctive ultramarine blue painting is one of 194 monochrome paintings made by the artist in his trademark colour International Klein Blue. Klein started painting these monochromes in 1947, considering them to allow him to reject the norm of representation in painting, and so achieve creative freedom.

Finally, before you take the lift up to Level 10 to catch a stunning view of the London skyline, make sure to visit the critically acclaimed installation The Clock by Christian Marclay. Described as a ‘mesmerising masterpiece of contemporary art’, the 24-hour montage compiles video and television footage of clocks and timepieces edited together so that they flow in real time. Is time relative? Why does time seem to move differently at different times in our lives? Why do we sometimes feel like it’s slipping away?

Speaking of running out of time, don’t miss the chance to view the Turner Prize 2018 exhibition for free before 20th October for under 25s. What are you waiting for? Take your mates to the world’s most popular contemporary art gallery on a Friday or Saturday. You know what they say – time flies when you’re having fun!

The Tate Modern is open Sunday to Thursday 10.00–18.00 and Friday to Saturday 10.00–22.00.